Gamma-ray irradiation effects on electrical properties of ferroelectric PbTiO3 and Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 thin films

• Gamma-ray irradiation effects on electrical properties of PbTiO3 and Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 films
• Radiation-induced defects and degradation of electrical properties
• Radiation hardness of PbTiO3 and Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 films

We investigated gamma-ray irradiation effects on electrical properties of ferroelectric PbTiO3 (PTO) and Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) thin films. PTO and PZT thin films were prepared on the Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates by using a sol–gel method with a spin-coating process. The prepared PTO and PZT thin films were subjected to gamma radiation with various total doses from 0 kGy to 300 kGy. There were no noticeable morphological and structural changes in PTO and PZT films before and after irradiation. As a total dose increases up to 300 kGy, a larger degradation behavior of electrical properties was observed in the PZT films rather than in the PTO films. About 35% of remanent polarization value decreased for the PZT films, while just 10% of that decreased for the PTO films. Dielectric constant of PZT films decreased much from 850 to 580, but that of the PTO films decreased just a little from 400 to 340. This degradation behavior of polarization and dielectric properties can be explained by the pinning of domain walls by some radiation-induced defects. These results suggest that the PTO films have higher radiation hardness properties than the PZT films.